© 19 Colin Melbourne
Denying Christ
Q: If you deny Christ when threatened with death are you lost forever?
A: Of course, that is precisely why He came and taught us to stand firm to the very last breath, Lk. 12:8-9 KJV;
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.
But see John Gill’s wise comments below concerning Peter’s denial of Christ, subsequent repentance and reinstatement.
Q: What about Peter denying Christ three times?
A: That’s a valid point to raise on the subject of Christ deniers, so deserves brief qualification.
Therefore I quote John Gill (1697-1771), the Baptist Calvinist who wrote;
But he that denieth me before men,…. That is, that continues to deny Christ, and lives and dies a denier of him; for otherwise it is possible for a person to deny Jesus to be the Son of God, or the Messiah, and afterwards confess him, as a Pagan or Jew; and through temptation, a real Christian may be left for a while, in one shape or another, to deny him and his truths, and afterwards truly repent, and at last be saved, as Peter; but they that deny Christ publicly, and persist in it, shall be denied before the angels of God: they will be denied by Christ as belonging to him; they will be denied admission into heaven; they will be covered with shame and confusion publicly; they will be sent into everlasting burnings, and be ever tormented with fire and brimstone, in the presence of the holy angels.
What About Torture?
That is also why Satan incites believers to deny Christ, by using torture.
It is happening around the world today, not only in American and Russian Gulags, but in every Chinese and Arabian prison.
All Catholics Deny Christ Daily
And, unless you have been spiritually blinded; you will know that Christ has been continually denied in the Roman Catholic Mass worldwide for centuries.
Resolve never, never, ever, ever deny Christ as your LORD, not in any circumstances.
The eternal cost is not worth a moment’s relief.
Instead, stay filled with God, overflowing with His Spirit, His Love, His Life, and you will smile as your last breath on Earth approaches.
Why?
Because; to be absent from the body, is to be with the LORD, 2 Co. 5:5-8 KJV;
Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
That’s also why the crucified Christ uttered this precious prophecy to a repentant sinner-man in the presence of death, Lk. 23:43KJV
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Oh Glory what a promise to give a condemned man perishing in agony!
Sinner! Has He given it to you yet?
Repent and believe on Christ, and you will be with Him in Glory this day!
Just like every born again believer already is… Halleluia!
You say, Don’t say that Colin, I’m too young to die!
To which I respond, “You don’t have to die physically to be with Christ today, but you must be born again, by dying spiritually, and being justified by the faith of Christ.
Where you will find yourself seated in Him, Eph. 1:18-23 KJV;
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
With your focus fixed on the Resurrected LORD of Glory, you will smile at the approaching death of your body.
For He has also promised every believer that stays faithful to the end,
Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
Get that clause branded on your heart, and you’ll canter through this life, taking whatever comes, and turning it for His Glory, because you long to hear The Son of man endorse you before the Angels of God.
This one confessed me before men: He’s ours forevermore!
That is our hope, and He is our strength. Amen!
© 19 Colin Melbourne